The Pink Fox
by leneypoo
Summary: Naruto rescues a pink fox and finds himself in over his head when he wakes up next to the girl of his dreams. NaruSaku AU, Adopted from foxhunter45
1. Lost and Found

**The Pink Fox**  
Based from the original by: foxhunter45

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable Naruto characters, settings, etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha Inc. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note**: foxhunter45 put this story up for adoption and I wanted to give it a try. I did take some artistic license with the first two chapters but the general gist of the story is still intact I hope.

* * *

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

Sleeping alone in a secluded cabin atop Mount Sandaime was just another oddity in the long list of strange that described Naruto Namikaze. To most people, Naruto was the textbook example of an extrovert—he took to contact like plants took to sunlight. Few understood why he hiked up a mountain, spent the night, and came back on campus the next day all the better for it. After all, living all the way up in the boonies meant buzzing and biting bugs, colder than normal weather, and the occasional wolf, coyote or bear that also called the area home. Naruto brushed those concerns aside. He had a mean right hook and hiking up and down the mountain, sometimes with supplies that weighed up to seventy pounds, had well-conditioned him to clear any obstacle he may come across.

As for loneliness, Naruto valued interaction with the animals that inhabited Mount Sandaime equally with that of people so there was always something to do or some new animal to meet on the mountain.

Currently he was crouched behind a bush looking down, hearing the telltale snarling of wolves. There were two of them circling a fox, a scene that was not out of the ordinary except for the fox which was an unusual pink color. It was trying to make itself as small as possible cowering on the ground. It seemed that the only thing saving the pink fox was the two wolves who were fixing to fight over the privilege to eat it. The shrill whimpers of the fox didn't seem to bring any of its family members out of hiding so Naruto had to act fast if he wanted to help it.

Putting down his hiking gear, he bent down, picked up a rock the size of his fist and threw it at the two wolves that had started to wrestle each other. The two barked in surprise leaping off each other, heads immediately turning to the direction of their attacker. Naruto was ready with two more rocks that barely missed them. That was on purpose—he didn't want to kill the wolves for doing what was natural to them. "Shoo!" Naruto growled.

The wolves, concluding that the pink fox wasn't worth the threat of getting their heads bashed in, made a hasty retreat. Naruto didn't waste any time leaping down into the shallow ditch where the pink fox was trying to climb out and escape into the bushes. One of the wolves had managed to take a chunk of its front right leg and moving it was causing the fox to shiver in shock. Naruto approached the fox slowly and when it tried to hobble backwards away from another potential predator, he said in a soothing voice, "I'm not gonna hurt you little one, I just want to treat that nasty bite ok?"

He had gotten near enough to the fox that he was able to reach out and rest a hand on its pink flank. The fox hesitantly allowed Naruto to pick her up and hold her in a cradle. Naruto, not trusting the wolves to stay away from such choice prey, quickly retrieved his gear and continued his trek towards the cabin he called home. The trip took less than an hour and as soon as he got there, he placed the fox on the couch and went to find his first aid kit.

Made for humans the first-aid kit wasn't exactly the best and Naruto, while having a soft spot for foxes, wasn't a zoologist so it would have to do. He spread cream on the bandages. When he tried to pick up the bitten leg, the vixen bit him. Unperturbed by the threat of rabies, Naruto managed to get the injured leg off the ground and carefully wrapped it in bandages. "Wow, looks like I saved you in the nick of time, otherwise you'd be a goner huh?"

The fox barked softly and tried to climb onto her feet. She stumbled forward at first but eventually was able to shift her weight off the injured leg and climbed onto Naruto's lap. She pushed her nose onto Naruto's chest. Naruto raised a hand to pet the top of her head, and her tail wagged.

Naruto had never seen a pink fox in his life. He had taken care of a few at Tsunade-baachan's place, but they were mostly red and grey. Except for its fur, the fox didn't look abnormal; he figured that its pigmentation was one of those biological surprises like being albino. "Where did you come from beautiful?"

The fox raised itself on her two hind feet and licked the tip of Naruto's chin. "Hey now, that tickles—hey stop! You're a playful one aren't ya? I bet you need to eat a lot to keep that energy up! Luckily I have some food for you."

Naruto stood from his seat putting the vixen down. There was still some of the food when he had been charged with a family of foxes at Tsunade's. He placed it in a bowl and presented it to the pink fox which hobbled to it and began eating with gusto. Naruto watched the fox go at it with a soft smile. The fox really was beautiful. Even with her awkward gait caused by the injury she was one of the prettiest ones he had ever seen.

The sound of his stomach grumbling snapped him out of his thoughts and he left the fox for the kitchen where he made himself a beef ramen. As he sat down with his meal, he felt the fox circling his left leg before settling down in a curl next to him. "Hey girl, you liked dinner?"

The pink fox raised her head up towards Naruto and something shiny at her neck caught his eye. Naruto pushed his chair backwards and the pink fox seemed to take the hint and rose on her hind legs again placing a paw on his lap. Naruto thumbed over a fabric collar that seemed to have writing embroidered on it:

_In search of peace, for a mate that will be forever entwined together till the end of time. _

"Weird…" Naruto's thumb traced the circumference of the collar, stopping at a silver medallion in the front center. It was an engraving of a cherry blossom.

Naruto wondered who had found the fox and put such as strange collar on her. Maybe it was some overly romantic designer breeder. In fact, that could explain the fox's odd color. Then there was the blossom engraving on the collar. Maybe it was a name?

"Sakura...it fits don't you think?"

The pink fox barked excitedly.

It was late so Naruto took a shower and got Sakura settled next to his bed before quickly falling to sleep unaware of the glow that over took his vulpine friend when the clock struck midnight.

* * *

She felt the painful sensation of being stretched in every direction. She tried to let out a cry of pain but was unable to make a sound. Her eyes still seemed to work and tears were falling down her cheeks, which had less hair than usual. Her body felt little pricks of itchiness as pink hair receded into light pink skin. Finally everything stopped and Sakura sniffed trying to collect her bearings and realized her sense of smell was almost gone.

"Wha—" the sound of her voice shocked her into silence.

What was going on? She stood up, wincing as she put weight on her right arm which was still wrapped with bandages and began to feel her body. She felt curves, the swell of breasts, pink fur—no hair—that fell just past her shoulders. This body was familiar to her, but at the same time not. But the longer she thought on it, the more she seemed to make sense of it all. "Human," she whispered. "I'm human, just like…"

She turned to her left where her savior was sleeping. The human male was asleep in his bed, covers knocked aside by restless feet to reveal a toned torso. Her gaze trailed upwards to his face. His mouth was open and with each breath his unruly blond hair shifted. She suddenly remembered how the human had held her carefully in his arms away from the wolves and her feet moved her closer.

She stopped and bent down, inches away from his face. Taking a sniff with her weakened sense of smell gave her no insight. Suddenly, her legs felt like rubber and she found herself toppling over, the world turning to black.

* * *

Naruto was dreaming. He _had_ to be dreaming. There could be no other explanation for waking up to find a girl kissing him. A _naked_ girl. Kissing _him_. Sure, said naked girl wasn't actually doing anything besides laying there, her lips on his, as if she had fallen asleep in that very position. He could feel her soft breaths tickling his nose. Naruto closed his eyes. "Wake up Naruto come on…aw jeez not that."

Naruto took the mysterious girls shoulders and gently moved her aside and stood up. The woman's body was picturesque and while her pink hair was conveniently covering up her boobs Naruto was shocked. He took a step forward and almost tripped over the pillow he set down for Sakura. "What the he—wait, Sakura?"

The pink fox did not seem to be in the room. "Sakura?" He ran out of his bedroom into the living room cabin looking around for the fox. He checked the kitchen and the bathrooms and found nothing. He went back into his room took an appreciative glance at naked girl sleeping obliviously and crouched looking underneath the bed skirt. "Sakura, Sakura-chan?"

There was a groan from above him. Naruto pushed himself away from the bottom of the bed and stared upwards. It was a particularly advantageous view of her boobs and Naruto could feel the blood rushing southwards. "Man Naruto, seriously. Tsunade naked. Tsunade and Professor Orochimaru naked."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, dazed.

"Me…I am Sakura."

She said the words as if unfamiliar with forming the sounds, savoring each consonant. "Who are you?" She responded haltingly.

"N-namikaze." He said before reconsidering it, "Naruto, I mean, you can call me Naruto!"

"Namikaze…Naruto."

Without warning she pitched herself into Naruto's arms. "Namikaze Naruto! I need your help!"

Naruto held Sakura in an awkward embrace, trying not to pay too much attention to how their bodies fit against each other. "Woah, easy there Sakura."

Sakura glanced at her legs, and Naruto realized that her right leg was wrapped in a bandage. "Does it hurt?"

Sakura nodded. "Okay, I've got a plan," Naruto said carefully extracting himself from under the naked girl and standing up. "L-let's get you some clothes and I'll replace the bandages…then we'll figure out the rest as we go along."

Naruto took Sakura's nonplussed expression as agreement and rushed towards the drawer where he found an old soccer club jersey and shorts. Getting them on Sakura was an ordeal as she seemed clueless about clothing in general and Naruto had to help her into them. But once she was sitting on the bed in his clothes Naruto found he could focus some more. Of course, seeing the girl's slight figure almost swallowed up by his clothes was really tempting.

He also got a roll of bandage and propped her leg on his lap. "Okay, I've got questions," he said, slowly peeling off her old bandages. "You are _Sakura_ Sakura? Pink fox Sakura?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"I…I can't say."

Naruto's furrowed his eyebrows as he began to wrap the new bandages around her wound, which seemed to be healing nicely. "You don't know?"

"No."

"Wait, so you do know?"

"I can't say it...I was—" Sakura's voice abruptly cut off as if an invisible hand had grabbed her by the throat.

Naruto's eyes widened. "If you can't say, can I ask you questions? You don't have to say anything, just nod or shake your head."

Sakura nodded.

"Am I dreaming?" It was a stupid question but Naruto still couldn't believe anything that was happening right now.

Sakura shook her head.

"Well there goes my theory," Naruto muttered.

He started slightly at Sakura's hand grabbing his. She raised it and placed it on her head. Then she repeated the motion. Naruto frowned, he sucked at charades. "You want me to pet you?"

Sakura shook her head again. She repeated the gesture and then pointed…

"Someone did something…a human?"

Sakura nodded furiously. "Who?"

Sakura shook her head. She pointed at her neck tracing a finger around it, before pulling at air. Naruto remembered the strange collar fox Sakura wore. "Collar, the person who put the collar on you."

"I need to find my mate."

Naruto nodded ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach that felt a little like disappointment. "Man I'm so hungry! Do you want breakfast?"

Sakura nodded enthusiastically.

Naruto got up and went into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pulling out eggs, vegetables and ham for an omelet. As he had one going in the skillet his mind ran through everything Sakura had just told him. He knew one thing for sure; he was going to help break whatever curse was on Sakura.

As he finished the second omelet he noticed the pale rays of light peeking in through the kitchen window, signaling that dawn had arrived. It was around six o' clock in the morning; Naruto figured that he could still manage to stop at the mall to get Sakura some clothes and make it to lectures on time. His plans set, he held both plates in his hands and walked back out to the living room…

Only to find a pink fox waddling through his t-shirt.

"S-sakura?"


	2. Passing the Time

**The Pink Fox  
**Based on the Original by: foxhunter45

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable Naruto characters, settings, etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha Inc. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note**: Updates will generally happen once a week. I also have this story ending in around 11 chapters, but that could definitely change. A bit of set up before moving past the bounds of the original story, hopefully you'll like where I'm taking this. Like in the original story, NaruIno exists. It'll pass.

* * *

**Chapter 2**: Passing the Time

"S-sakura?"

Sakura, now a pink fox, stopped untangling herself from the human's clothing and looked up. The human's facial expression was comical, big blue eyes widened in shock, his mouth hanging open, revealing a set of teeth that were unimpressive from the standards of a fox.

Sakura sighed before leaping daintily out of the pile of human clothes and onto the wooden floor. Her fox form, while more familiar, came with its own disadvantages. She should have warned him before she changed back but the transformation always left her slightly disoriented. The human walked closer to her and Sakura sat back, sniffing the air appreciatively. She was hungry, she could smell eggs and she'd like those now, thank you very much.

The human quickly got the hint and knelt down placing one of the plates on the floor. Sakura leapt onto all fours and began eating the egg mixture.

"This is just too weird."

Sakura didn't think it was very weird at all. Magic, specifically curses, seemed to operate as inconveniently as possible.

"I think I've finally gone crazy. I must've hit my head or somethin' and I'm in a coma right now—ouch! You bit me!"

Sakura didn't know why the human sounded so offended, she was helping him out wasn't she? "Okay, so I guess I'm not dreaming. But I'm talking to a talking fox…well not really; 'I'm talking to a fox that turns into a human that talks' is probably better and—ow!"

Sakura would have rolled her eyes if it were physically possible. It seems her human savior was a bit dense and in need of training. But babbling was a lot better than other reactions she had received from humans who witnessed her curse. She had long since become inured to slurs of 'witch' or 'demon'. She had also learned how to evade the inevitable attacks that followed. Sakura sighed again, lying down the ground, the weight of her curse suddenly hitting her full force.

"Sakura-chan, you okay? Is your leg hurting you?"

Thanks to the human, her leg was not debilitating but the dull ache in her chest made it slightly hard to breathe. She was tired of running, tired of always being on guard from predators both human and animal.

There was an unfamiliar weight near the top of her head. It took a second to realize that it was the human scratching the back of her ears. She let herself sink into the warm tingling sensation sighing softly.

"Hey Sakura-chan, we'll find your mate," he said, "You can count on me."

After being rejected and almost killed repeatedly because of her curse, Sakura had stopped reaching out to humans. She knew that placing her trust in this one putting her in a vulnerable position. '_But,_' Sakura thought as she pushed her head into the human's warm hands. '_Maybe this one is different._'

* * *

Naruto was nearly a half hour late to his first class and things went downhill from there. He was totally out to lunch during the rest of his classes. His notes, covered in snatches of lecture and doodles of foxes, were equally as useless. He was so far removed from his surroundings he couldn't even enjoy how his behavior was throwing Professor Orochimaru for a loop. Before he knew it, classes were over and he was walking out of the lecture hall and into the busy hallway.

"Hey Naruto!"

Naruto turned to his left where Ino Yamanaka was walking purposefully down the hall to meet him. Ino was prepared for anything and she made sure she looked that way from her designer black romper and leather boots, to her blond hair tied neatly in a high ponytail that fell that fell down her back. Naruto opened his arms and she leaned into and up, pressing her lips against his. Naruto wrapped his arms around her, pushing her body closer to his, a hand running through her hair, letting her lips distract him from thoughts of curses and transformations.

Ino pulled back with a grin. "So Naruto," Ino's hand trailed down his cheek, "glad to see you back in civilization. I was starting to think you were eaten by wolves."

"Geez Ino, the cabin's completely safe."

Naruto let Ino slip a hand into his and pull him out into the courtyard towards the student union. "Yeah, but can you blame a girl for worrying? You're totally alone up there; anything could happen and no one would know until the 10 o' clock news a week later."

Naruto nudged her shoulder and raised his eyebrows suggestively. "I have a king sized bed you know."

"Sorry pal, these boots were made for only walking," Ino scoffed, rolling her hips teasingly.

She swung their arms out in a wide arc playfully before stopping abruptly, taking Naruto's right hand in both hands. "Omigod! What happened?"

"What?" Naruto looked down to see the bite mark on his hand which had begun to scab over. "Oh that was Sakura-chan."

Ino eyes narrowed. "Who is 'Sakura-chan'?"

Naruto reared back from Ino's growing ire. "Whoa, it's a fox I found in the woods. She was scared and my hand was an easy target."

Ino shook her head, slotting her fingers between his, before resuming her walk. "Oh come _on_ Ino," she said, easily mimicking Naruto's trademark cadence, "there's _nothing_ to worry about in the middle of nowhere. Rabies? _Pshh_! I'm Namikaze Naruto!"

Naruto laughed and turned around, catching Ino unawares. She stumbled onto his chest. "I'm not sure rabies is contagious," he grinned, "wanna find out?"

Ino's eyes widened at Naruto's mischievous open mouthed grin, and she twisted her face away from Naruto's lips. She shrieked playfully when Naruto's mouth took a detour to her neck, the grazing of his teeth against her throat making her shiver slightly. Naruto pulled away quickly, looking smug. He chuckled at Ino's reddening face. "You jerk!" she cried.

Naruto quickly jogged away laughing from Ino who followed hard in pursuit.

* * *

Sakura wasn't going to spend the entire day inside the human's cabin. It was a far better use of her time to do some exploring of her new territory. Sakura managed to unlatch one of the windows in the bedroom and wiggle through the small opening leading to the outside.

The cabin sat on a cliff surrounded by pine trees. The cliff side cut off access from most predators but there was no finding food in that direction either. Sakura wasn't much of a climber and her leg put mountain scaling firmly out of the question. She turned around and ran down the length of the cabin, which was larger on the inside than it seemed, to the front of the cabin where the ground began to slope downwards. She could hear the faint gurgling of running water.

She was at the bubbling creek, a mile and a half away, within minutes. The water originated from much higher up so it was cold, but Sakura drank her fill with relish. She shook herself dry and began to walk alongside the creek when the smell of citrus filled her nose.

Raising her head, she noticed that hanging high on the tree above her was a cluster of oranges fruits. The smell of the oranges was irresistible and Sakura found herself standing on two feet straining to reach one. Her wounded leg protested slightly but Sakura was determined to get her paws on an orange. She leaped up into the air, just missing one of the lower ones.

Back on all fours, Sakura resigned herself to not having a citrusy treat when a gust of wind blew through the tree shaking one of the orange fruits loose. Sakura pounced, sinking her teeth into the sweet fruit.

Raising her head from the eaten orange, she realized that the sun was beginning to set. It would probably be best to return to the cabin; Sakura didn't want her human doing anything stupid looking for her. She was off in a flash.

A gust of wind and the sound of chimes softly rang behind Sakura's retreating figure. The branch bearing the orange fruit dipped as a black feline appeared from the shadows.

"_Interesting…it's not every day you see a human in a vixen's body."_

* * *

That night, Naruto stayed up to watch Sakura's transformation. It was bizarre; at one moment, Sakura was just a fox with strangely colored fur. The in the next moment, she began to glow with a white light and she stepped out from the light and her fox form into the pink haired girl he had found in his bed that morning.

Naruto politely lowered his eyes away from Sakura. So far, Sakura didn't seem to mind Naruto seeing her nude, but Naruto wasn't going to push it. "I got you some clothes from the mall today," he pointed at the pile of neatly folded clothes on his bed.

Sakura scrutinized the clothes with a wrinkled nose before facing Naruto expectantly. "Oh, here let me show you."

"Normally I help girls out of their clothes, so this seems a bit backwards." Naruto remarked with a nervous chuckle as he helped Sakura into her clothes.

Sakura was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Naruto was relieved that they fit. "Thank you." Sakura bowed low.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Eh, it's nothing! Come on, are you hungry?"

Sakura nodded and Naruto led them to where a pot was cooking on a hotplate. Sakura raised her head sniffing. "It smells good."

"Ramen's my specialty," Naruto winked, reaching for the pot.

He took off the pot cover and began scooping ramen into it with a pair of chopsticks as if it were a plate. He then presented the pot to Sakura who took it carefully and then proceeded to thrust her face into it. With a gasp of pain, she snapped her head back away from the steaming ramen. "Ah no," Naruto quickly took back the cover, "here."

Naruto took the chopsticks and with the ease of a master ramen eater twisted a thick stream of ramen onto them. He rose up in front of Sakura. "Just blow on it."

Sakura looked at the ramen with trepidation before blowing. Then Naruto moved the ramen to her lips. "Eat up."

Sakura opened her mouth and slurped the ramen from the chopsticks. Naruto grinned at her wide-eyed expression. He offered the pot cover and the chopsticks to Sakura who took them. She was a quick study and soon she was slurping up noodles like the best of them.

She looked up with a satisfied grin and Naruto noticed that a ramen noodle was stuck to the side of her face. "You have some on your face," Naruto said.

Sakura, in an attempt to locate the stray noodle, put on an adorable cross-eyed expression and Naruto found himself reaching out to brush off the stray piece of ramen with his thumb without thinking. Sakura froze, her cheeks reddening slightly. "There, it's gone." Naruto said.

Then he saw Sakura's expression and felt his face flush. Wiping the stray piece of ramen with a napkin, he quickly changed the subject. "So, your mate..."

"I have to find him."

Naruto imagined walking up to someone's house at two a clock in the morning asking if they were missing their wife. He winced inwardly at the mental image of running away from the cops. Then again, if someone was missing their significant other they would welcome the interruption of sleep right?

"He's the Lord of the Fire House," Sakura added.

Naruto cocked his head, confused. "The Lord of the what now?"

"Yes," Sakura went on, "I was betrothed to Madara of the Fire House."

Naruto stared at Sakura blinking. "What?"

Sakura frowned. "Are we not in Fire Country?"

"We are but I don't think I've heard of anything or anyone called the Fire House, but it rings a bell…"

Naruto leaped up and made a mad dash to his backpack where he took out a sleek orange netbook. "Let's see what this could find!"

Naruto was too focused on booting up the computer to catch Sakura's dubious expression. "Okay, Fire House…I get a bunch of restaurants, was your mate a cook?"

Naruto looked up to see Sakura's face. "Okay, guess not. How about Madara of the Fire House..um hey there's a ninjapedia link."

"The valley of the end is located in the Hokage Mountain Range between Mt. Shodai and Nidame Peak. It was the location a battle between Madara of the Fire House clan and Hashirami of the One Thousand Hands…hey I recognize that last dude—but are you sure this Madara is the same guy?"

"Yes I'm sure, why?"

Naruto looked up from his netbook. "Sakura…Hashirama of the Thousand Hands died three hundred years ago."


End file.
